Parfum d’Empire Musc Tonkin opens with the most memorable erotic funk of the past several decades, but it’s far from being a mere muscular exercise on animalcy. Its roaring warmth is interwoven with heady white flowers, possibly tuberose and ylang-ylang along with a luscious confectionery of honeyed rose and osmanthus absolute melts on skin like a sumptuous liqueur. What makes Musc Tonkin really break through is the sparkle of orange blossom boosted by a genius marine note bridging the urinous mineralcy of African stone. The endless salty skin base accord softens in the hay-like hues of coumarin and patchouli, hinting in my mind to the languorous opium smokers of French Indochina. This miraculous balance of immaculate and dirty is the very soul of the XX century French perfumery featuring the (back then) widely available musk Tonkin as a the key ingredient. As many perfume reviews on the web point out, that there is a common ground with classics like Guerlain Mitsouko, Femme de Rochas, 1000 de Jean Patou and many others is no surprise. The vintage vibe is a happy result in this case, not a goal.

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